Picking up where the first Homecoming post left off, as we landed in Cincinnati. Home at last.

We had done it. We made it through 17 days of uncertainty, the trip of a lifetime, got our girl and made it back home. I was much calmer by the time we got off the flight from Chicago, but tears just kept leaking out. We made a quick pit stop in the bathroom (Maybe that iced tea in Chicago wasn't such a good idea!) and started to head toward baggage. After spending so many days in overcrowded China, the Cincinnati airport was a ghost town. We had this long, straight, quiet, eery walk. I wasn't sure where we would find our family. All of sudden I realized they were all straight ahead at the end of a very long walkway. I swear it was the longest walk of my life! We could see each other but it just seemed like we weren't getting to them! My parents were there, my sister and her kids, my grandma (who said she wouldn't have missed that moment if she had to crawl!), and Jeremy's brother. Our friends Leigh and Brian and their daughter Evie was also there, Leigh taking pictures of our homecoming for us. There are no words to describe the emotions of those moments. I was just sobbing the whole walk and my babies were jumping up and down waving madly to us. Of course after all our efforts to get Maggie to sleep on the flights, she chose that walk to fall asleep in her carrier on me!

Finally, finally, we made it. It was hysteria by all, lots of tears. There were several video cameras and cameras going and such high emotions. I wanted to just pick up each of my children and squeeze them for dear life. But I had our new child strapped to me , so we did lots of side hugs. :)

Relief. Such huge amounts of relief to be safely back to my babies and back home. Thanks to my dear friend Leigh, we have beautiful pictures to document these moments. I love looking through each one, relieving those moments second by second. It brings back a flood of emotions every time I look at them. Leigh, I'll never be able to thank you enough for these pictures!